Saturday, May 22, 2010

On the way from Palermo we drove fast over a bridge (a road on stilts) about 28 km long. With the wind and the heavy rain, it was a touch terrifying. The sun shone briefly as we hit Piazza Armerina, an old inland town in the mountains of central Italy, with about 23,000 inhabitants. Its history dates back to C7th BC , with Roman, Middle Ages and Norman architectural evidence. We ate the best pasta ever (pasta fresca from Nonna Maria) at Ristorante Teatro. Then the rain came down again.

Any day in Catania involves a traffic jam of some description. "Molto traffico!" Saturdays are often worse than others. It took quite a while to navigate the narrow streets, all of course with cars , vans and trucks parked at all angles, all over the place, sticking out to block the streets, and with much honking of horns/claxions. Finally we reached the equally noisy fish market. An experience not to be missed. Today we also saw evidence of at least 6 weddings. And to make the traffic even worse it was Saint Rita's day, with many women dressed to please or remember her, in simple black long dresses with a white top. At first we thought those in these costumes may have been in a choir. Later we noticed young girls were wearing the outfits also. Most carrying a long-stemmed red rose. Still later at the Castel Ursino we met a family with a sleeping baby a few months old, in pram, dressed as Saint Rita. Without a rose.

About Me

Mardie is a Director of Ciao Bella Tours Pty Ltd, an Australian company. She leads very small group tours in Italy each year, with a particular emphasis on the various Regions' food, wine, history and art.